In this second volume of a 3-volume set, teenage Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery) joins the Belgium Army in order to serve in World War I.  He fights in the trenches at Flanders and Verdun, sees action in Africa, then is recruited into the Secret Service where he flies with the Lafayette Escadrille, goes on clandestine missions in Germany, Austria, Russia, and winds up seeing action in the Middle Eastern desert. 

Along the way, he matures into manhood and encounters many famous, or soon-to-be famous people, including Charles de Gaulle, Mata Hari, Albert Schweitzer, Manfred von Richthofen, Anthony Fokker, V.I. Lenin, Franz Kafka and T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia).

CRITIQUE

The Young Indiana Jones films have gone through many incarnations.  The project started out as a one-hour television series (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles), then when that show failed, it was ultimately re-edited into 22 feature-length stand-alone movies that combined two episodes that were not always a smooth fit.

These movies have now been divided into three sets, entitled The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.  The first of these, subtitled The Early Years, contained seven movies that primarily dealt with Jones (played by Corey Carrier) from ages 9-12.  Frankly, I found them to be a bit dull, emphasizing educational material over dramatic action.

However, this second set of eight movies is first-rate entertainment.  Not only has every film been shot on location, presumably in the country where it takes place, but the production values are of a caliber that one expects to see on a theater screen, rather than on television.  Indeed, the battle sequences are absolutely spectacular.

The stories in this set are also more akin to those in the Steven Spielberg/Harrison Ford movies, not what one finds in a television series.  Whether played tongue-in-cheek like the theatrical films, or in one instance, just for laughs, there is no lack of suspense or action.

The “Trenches of Hell” and “Demons of Deception” films are down and dirty, just like classic WWI movies (e.g. All Quiet on the Western Front), while “Attack of the Hawkman” features air battle sequences that are equal to The Dawn Patrol.

Conversely, “Espionage Escapades” is played for laughs and even has Monty Python’s Terry Jones directing and co-starring in the first half of the film.

Flanery is excellent as young Indy, developing as the films progress from a “gung ho” soldier to, after he meets Albert Schweitzer, a man determined to do everything he can to bring the terrible conflict to an end.  On the other hand, I found Ronny Coutteure, who plays his buddy, to be rather annoying and was happy to see him disappear from the stories after the first few films.

THE VIDEO

The Full Frame picture is, for the most part, broadcast sharp.  There are no noticeable flaws.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Digital Stereo Sound is excellent.

THE EXTRAS

The extras in these sets are superb, sometimes even better than the movie itself.

Each film is accompanied by several documentary featurettes, each one putting the events and real-life characters in that movie into historical perspective.  There is also a 9th “Bonus Disc,” which includes an Interactive Timeline, a Historical Lecture, “War and Revolution” and an interactive game.

Taking each film separately, the featurettes include:

Trenches of Hell: “The Somme – Storm of Steel,” “Siegfried Sassoon – A War Poet’s Journey,” “Robert Graves and the White Goddess” and “I Am France – The Myth of Charles de Gaulle”.

Demons of Deception: “Into the Furnace – The Battle of Verdun,” “Marshal Petain’s Fall From Grace,” “Flirting with Danger – The Fantasy of Mata Hari” and “Reading the Enemy’s Mind – Espionage in World War I”.

Phantom Train of Doom: “Chasing the Phantom – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck,” “Dreaming of Africa – The Life of Frederick Selous” and “At Home and Abroad – The Two faces of Jan Smuts”.

Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life: “Albert Schweitzer – Reverence for Life,” “Congo – A Curse of Riches” and “Waging Peace – The Rise of Pacifism”.

Attack of the Hawkmen: “War in the Third Dimension – Aerial Warfare in World War I,” “Blood Red – The Life and Death of Manfred von Richthofen,” “Flying High for France – The Lafayette Escadrille,” and “Anthony Fokker – The Flying Dutchman”.

Adventures in the Secret Service: “Karl – The Last Habsburg Emperor,” “The Russian Revolution – All Power to the Soviets, and “V.I. Lenin – History Will Not Forgive Us”.

Espionage Escapades: “Impresario – Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes,” “Ballet – The Art of Dance,” and “Franz Kafka’s Dark Truth”.

Daredevil’s of the Desert: “Lines in the Sand – The Middle East and the Great War” and “Colonel Lawrence’s War – T.E. Lawrence and Arabia”.

FINAL THOUGHT

If you’re a fan of the Indiana Jones movies, then you’ll want to own this set.